description
A film tumblelog, written and curated by Dave Bragdon
Nick Carr is a location scout based out of New York City. In his line of work, he often stumbles upon hidden gems that most New Yorkers overlook. Scouting NY is the blog where he shares his discoveries.
“This is not an occult science. This is not one of those crazy systems of divination and astrology. That stuff’s hooey, and you’ve got to have a screw loose to go in for that sort of thing. Our beliefs are fairly commonplace and simple to understand. Humankind is simply materialized color operating on the 49th vibration. You would make that conclusion walking down the street or going to the store.”
— Terry Bohner*, A Mighty Wind
The film version of Where the Wild Things Are comes out on Friday. The adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic was cowritten by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, who also directed the project. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, watch it—right now. If you need more than that to get excited, check out this great snippet from a group interview that will appear in the Oct. 19th edition of Newsweek:
Reporter: “What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?”
Sendak: “I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate.”
Reporter: “Because kids can handle it?”
Sendak: “If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it’s not a question that can be answered.”
Jonze: “Dave, you want to field that one?”
Eggers: “The part about kids wetting their pants? Should kids wear diapers when they go to the movies? I think adults should wear diapers going to it, too. I think everyone should be prepared for any eventuality.”
Sendak: “I think you’re right. This concentration on kids being scared, as though we as adults can’t be scared. Of course we’re scared. I’m scared of watching a TV show about vampires. I can’t fall asleep. It never stops. We’re grown-ups; we know better, but we’re afraid.”
Reporter: “Why is that important in art?”
Sendak: “Because it’s truth. You don’t want to do something that’s all terrifying. I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child’s eyes. So what? I managed to survive.”
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If you’re thinking of going to film school, why not learn from Werner Herzog? The Rogue Film School is a weekend seminar held by Herzog himself. The fee is $1450, and if the about page is any indicator, it’s probably more than worth it:
The Rogue Film School will be in the form of weekend seminars held by Werner Herzog in person at varying locations and at infrequent intervals.
The number of participants will be limited.
Locations and dates will be announced on this website and Werner Herzog’s website: www.wernerherzog.com approximately 12 weeks in advance.
The Rogue Film School will not teach anything technical related to film-making. For this purpose, please enroll at your local film school.
The Rogue Film School is about a way of life. It is about a climate, the excitement that makes film possible. It will be about poetry, films, music, images, literature.
The focus of the seminars will be a dialogue with Werner Herzog, in which the participants will have their voice with their projects, their questions, their aspirations.
Excerpts of films will be discussed, which could include your submitted films; they may be shown and discussed as well. Depending on the materials, the attention will revolve around essential questions: how does music function in film? How do you narrate a story? (This will certainly depart from the brainless teachings of three-act-screenplays). How do you sensitize an audience? How is space created and understood by an audience? How do you produce and edit a film? How do you create illumination and an ecstasy of truth?
Related, but more practical subjects, will be the art of lockpicking. Traveling on foot. The exhilaration of being shot at unsuccessfully. The athletic side of filmmaking. The creation of your own shooting permits. The neutralization of bureaucracy. Guerrilla tactics. Self reliance.
Censorship will be enforced. There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth.
Related, but more reflective, will be a reading list: if possible, read Virgil’s “Georgics”, read “Hemingway’s “The short happy life of Francis Macomber”, The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander (in particular the Prophecy of the Seeress), Bernal Diaz del Castillo “True History of the Conquest of New Spain”.
Follow your vision. Form secretive Rogue Cells everywhere. At the same time, be not afraid of solitude.
BLU brings us another brilliant, graffiti-based animation. It’s called COMBO and was created in collaboration with David Ellis.
Welcome to filmic, a tumblelog about film. I’ve been meaning to blog about film for years, and now I’m finally getting around to it. In true tumblelog fashion, I’m going to share bits and pieces of all-things-film as I discover (and rediscover) them, but I’m going to write long, in-depth posts, too.
Stay tuned.
